It makes me wonder WHY she wants to breed the rabbits.Her doe will be very protective and secretive when she's got young .Not what I would want from a pet at all.

And does she really think she'll get money for them. Unless she's a reputable, recognised breeder (I'm guessing not) with a waiting list for rabbit babies, she'll have a short time window to rehome the babies.

I'm not a rabbit keeper- or even a rabbit fan TBH but I've never kept them. I've got two male guinea-pigs from a rescue.I chose to adopt these two piggies and I paid the equivelant of what I would pay in a Petshop to the rescue.

But in the (unlikely) event of me looking for an animal from an advert, I would pay not one single penny.I would be doing THEM a favour. They want to rehome. I can give a very good home.I don't want to buy their cage, I've got wonderful accomodation for my pets.And if someone refused to 'sell' me a pet because obviously I'm going to use it for snakefood or dog-fight bait: their loss.

I don't think my friend's rabbits are French lops but they're about that size - very large bunnies. The cage is certainly not large enough in that case - I'd say 3 by 2 feet at the very most. The babies are still in the outdoor cage, in this weather! I'm more and more appalled.

OP - you say that these buns are large - are they French lops? If so a pair of rabbits of this size need a small garden shed to live in or a cage at the very least 6 by 2 feet - does she have the facilities?

Whatever the rights and wrongs of breeding (and I personally think it's wrong when there are so many unwanted animals), letting the doe get pregnant again immediately is just horrible IMHO. Now she could easily be pregnant AGAIN (third time in 6 weeks!) as she still hasn't been separated from the buck. There's a good article here about rabbits being a prey species that are designed to breed 'like rabbits' (appropriate simile!) in the wild: <<http://www.rabbit.org/adoption/why-not-to-breed.html>>

Our own rabbit had been an "easter bunny" that the owners had tired of, he was kept in a totally inappropriate cage. Whe my daughter maved back home bringing him with her I took time to look uphow to care for himThe RSPCA/SSPCA have pages on their sites, lots of good infoeven pets at home have webpages full of infoand masses to learn from www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/

I disagree with you MsBella she is cruel.It is cruel to keep an animal, any animal, without knowing how to look after it, how to prevent it's offspring dying. DYING If the owner is ignorant that is their choice, not the animals.It's not like it's hard to google, or talk to a vet, or go to the library, or buy a book.

She's not cruel for this, she obviously just doesn't feel the same way as all of you do... let's just hope the weather is better for these next ones. I agree its not responsible but if she doesnt KNOW the things that you lot know then I really wouldn't say she's cruel etc.

Your friend is an idiot,cruel and stupid. I rescue rabbits and am appalled daily by the selfish stupidity of people like her. She should sort herself out and look after the animals she has by neutering them. Depressing.

Thanks everyone for validating my feelings about this! Her rabbits are huge (the size of cats really) so yes, they probably don't have enough space. I don't think my friend plans to sell them but just wants the babies - it's sad. And this article (and others) on the subject of unwanted animals is disturbing: m.voices.yahoo.com/legal-animal-cruelty-free-good-home-9050303.html

I'm now wondering if there's any way I can link my friend anonymously to this thread...

Your friend is obviously not capable of looking after the rabbits she has got let alone breeding them.If the mother was stressed and the previous babies died of cold then the poor buns are not adequately housed.www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/ahutchisnotenough.htm

Our local gumtree site is full of unwanted rabbits looking for home, many being given away free,and still they cant get rehomed.Recently there have been a spate of domestic rabbits being abandoned, our local rabbit rescue has a waiting list to accept rabbits.

Uneutered does have a higher risk of uterine cancer

The happiest rabbits are kept in pairs, or groups, in well sheltered hutches with access to runs, even indoors ( ours has a litter tray which he uses ) They need as much care as a cat or dog, regular vet checks,vaccinations and aren't always happy at being picked up and cuddled.Having said that they can be wonderful pets as long as you understand them

No you anbu. Your friend is an idiot. Babies r cute yes but if you don't separate them soon enough dads will be breeding with daughters etc. unless she wants entire litters of sick in bred rabbits she should take up the sodding fab deal of £20 neutering. She will not get that cheaper anywhere else and shed be an idiot not to take it up.

You can't breed animals with no thought to caring for them , re homing them or having anywhere to separate the sexes and the boys fromEachother to stop fighting. Shame ful selfish behaviour!!!

I'm surprised the second birth hasn't killed the doe due to how soon they've been allowed to breed again.

What is your friend planning on doing if she can't find homes for them all?

I also second what Madratlady says, I think she'll be extremely disappointed that what she gets from selling them probably will only just cover the cost of feeding and caring for them until they are rehomed-IF she manages to rehome them.

As there are tens of thousands of rabbits in animal rescues needing homes then she is simply contributing to that problem. Most of those rabbits were owned for less than a year before ending up in rescues.

Where is she planning on keeping the babies? How will she afford vaccinations and neutering so they don't fight? What about potential vets bills?

If she plans to sell them she is likely to be very disappointed at how little she will get.

My friend's rabbit gave birth a month ago and all the babies died. Some froze due to the cold weather, and the rest were trampled by their mother (quite common with first litters, apparently).

My friend was upset the babies died so she immediately put the male and female back together in the hope that they'd have another litter. People pointed out on FB that her local RSPCA would neuter her rabbits for just £20 but she said that she wanted more babies. She hasn't given any thought as to what she'd do with the babies but she doesn't have the space to keep them herself.

Now I see on FB that her rabbit has just given birth again, poor thing. I think my friend is being selfish especially when there are so many needy animals in rescue centres - a problem that has been made worse in recent years by more people giving up animals for financial reasons. If she is insistent that she wants more baby rabbits she could at least have waited a bit!